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P C T U N E U P S !
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Easy PC Maintenance for the rest of us!
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Publisher: Jonathan Leger Issue #011
mailto:jleger@... # of Subscribers 799

======== This Week's Feature Article ================================
---------------------------------------------------------------------
TROUBLESHOOTING AND FIXING YOUR HARDWARE PROBLEMS
=====================================================================

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------------------------------------
READER FEEDBACK ABOUT THE LAST ISSUE
====================================

"That was a great article on how to change a modem! My first issue
of PCTuneUps,looks like I finally found a newsletter that I can
really use,and will maybe keep me out of the repair shop so much."
--Penny Widell <pennydw@...>

"Your article on 'CHOOSE AND INSTALL A NEW MODEM', this was one of
the best articles I have ever read and it left you knowing
everything needed to the job done right. I went back over my
install here reading what you said and it did make for a better
install of my modem."
--Fred Jones <wa4swf@...>

I love feedback! Please e-mail all feedback to:
mailto:windowstuneups-owner@egroups.com

======== Feature Article ============================================
---------------------------------------------------------------------
TROUBLESHOOTING AND FIXING YOUR HARDWARE PROBLEMS
=====================================================================
by Jonathan Leger

It's bound to happen sooner or later: you turn on the old 'puter, and
something that was working fine before is no longer working at all,
or is having weird problems. Whether it's your modem, your sound
card, a scanner, or some other device in or connected to your PC,
there are a few things that you can do to get it working again.

To find out exactly how you should go about troubleshooting your
computer, choose which one of the following scenarios describes your
situation:

[1] I just installed this device. This is the first time I've ever
had this kind of device in my computer.
[2] I just installed this device to replace an old device of the same
kind.
[3] I haven't changed anything. This device just stopped working.

Regardless of which situation describes you, ask yourself a few key
questions:

[+] Did I install the driver for this device?

Almost all new hardware will require you to install a "device
driver". A device driver is a program that tells Windows how
to control, or "drive" the device.

[+] After installing the device, did I check for conflicts in the
Device Manager?

Just because Windows appeared to install the device just fine,
doesn't necessarily mean that it's not conflicting (that is,
getting in the way of) another device in your computer.

If you have not installed the driver, do that first. Your hardware
Should have come with a How-To guide (sometimes called Getting
Started) that will explain how to install the driver. If it did not,
or if you no longer have the manual, see 'Scenario [3]' for
instructions on how to reinstall the driver.

If you have installed the driver, but don't know how to check for
conflicts, see the section further down entitled "Resolving Device
Conflicts."

--------------------
Scenario [1]:

I just installed this device. This is the first time I've ever
had this kind of device in my computer.
=====================

After having installed the driver and checked for conflicts with
other devices, if your device still is not working properly, there
are two things you can do:

[1] Go to the manufacturer's website (which is usually shown in the
device's documentation), and download the latest driver for the
device. You will usually find driver updates in a section of
the website called "Support" if there is not a specific section
on the main page for downloading new drivers.

[2] After having installed that latest driver, if the device still
does not work, try installing the device in a friend's computer.
If it does not work in another computer, either, you might have
gotten a bad device. This does happen. We occasionally receive
equipment here that was tested before it left from the vendor,
but may have been damaged during shipping. Hopefully you kept
the receipt and can return the item.

--------------------
Scenario [2]:

I installed this device to replace an old device of the same
kind.
=====================

After having installed the driver and checked for conflicts with
other devices, if your device still is not working properly, ask
yourself the following two questions:

[1] Did I remove/disable the old device before I installed the new
one?

When installing a new modem, for example, it is always a good idea
to remove the old one, especially you are working with an old
computer, because the old modem may not be Plug-N-Play, and so that
could cause trouble.

[2] Did I remove the old device driver before installing the new one?

Even if you took the old device out of the computer, or unplugged it
from the computer, you may still need to remove the drive for the
old device to avoid hidden conflicts. Do the following:

[+] Right-click on 'My Computer' on your desktop and choose
'Properties'.
[+] A window will appear that says 'System Properties.' Click on
the tab at the top of the window that says 'Device Manager.'
[+] Double-click on the type of device that is giving you problems
(i.e., if you installed a new modem, double-click on the
'Modem' icon, if it's a sound card, double-click on the
'Sound, video and game controllers' icon.)
[+] Single-click on the driver for the OLD device, and then click
the button that says 'Remove'.
[+] Restart your computer.

If that does not solve your problem, follow the two steps outlined
under 'Scenario [1]' above, downloading and installing the latest
driver from the manufacturer and trying the device in another
computer.





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=====================================================================






--------------------
Scenario [3]:

I haven't changed anything: the device just stopped working.
=====================

After having installed the driver and checked for conflicts with
other devices, if your device still is not working properly, you
will want to remove the driver (see 'Scenario [2]' above for detailed
instructions on how to remove the driver), and then reinstall the
driver from off of the diskette or CD that came with the device.

DO NOT LET WINDOWS JUST FIND AND INSTALL ITS OWN COPY OF THE DRIVER.

If, after rebooting the computer, Windows "finds" your new hardware
and installs the driver for it (which you don't want it to do in
case there is something wrong with the driver), do the following:

If your device came with a CD-ROM, put the CD-ROM in the CD-ROM drive
and wait for a few seconds to see if a menu will pop-up. A menu
should pop up because Windows has what is called an 'Autorun' feature
that will automatically run the program on the CD (or play a music
CD) once you put it in the drive. When the menu appears, see if
there is an option to install the driver. If you cannot find one, or
if the device came with a floppy diskette, do the following:

[+] Right-click on 'My Computer' on your desktop and choose
'Properties'.
[+] A window will appear that says 'System Properties.' Click on
the tab at the top of the window that says 'Device Manager.'
[+] Double-click on the type of device that is giving you problems
(i.e., if you installed a new modem, double-click on the
'Modem' icon, if it's a sound card, double-click on the
'Sound, video and game controllers' icon.)
[+] Single-click on the driver for the OLD device, and then click
the button that says 'Properties'.
[+] A window will appear that has the name of the device on it.
Click on the 'Driver' tab at the top of the window, and then
click on the 'Update Driver' button.
[+] The 'Update Device Driver' wizard will appear. Click 'Next'.
[+] Make sure 'Search for a better driver' is selected, and then
click 'Next' again.
[+] If your device came with a floppy diskette, click the box next
to 'Floppy Disk drives' so that there is a check-mark in it.
If your device came on a CD-ROM, click the box next to 'CD-ROM
drives' so that there is a check-mark in it. If it is located
somewhere else, click the box next to 'Specify a Location' and
type in the path to the driver.
[+] Be sure that you have the diskette or CD-ROM in the drive
before clicking 'Next' again.
[+] If there is more than one driver on the diskette or CD-ROM,
Windows will ask you to choose which one you want to install.
Select the one that you need (it will usually match the name
on the box for the device) and then click 'Next'. If you are
not given a list, but Windows tells you that it is ready to
install the device, then click 'Next'.
[+] Windows will now install your device. You will probably have
to restart the computer after it is done.

Check the now reinstalled device for conflicts. If you don't know
how, see the section below entitled "Resolving Device Conflicts".

--------------------------
Resolving Device Conflicts
==========================

Plug-N-Play was supposed to solve the problem of driver conflicts.
Windows is supposed to look at everything in your computer, see where
there is room to put the new device, and put it there. This works
pretty good most of the time, but sometimes Windows gets confused and
doesn't put the device where it's supposed to go.

Imagine that you had a lamp plugged into a socket in the wall, and
you then wanted to plug another lamp into that same socket. You
can't do it, can you? You have to unplug one of them to get the
other one in. It works the same way with a computer. You can't have
to devices using the same space, but sometimes Windows tries to do
that anyway, and it causes what you call a "conflict". Sometimes
this causes one device to stop working while the other one keeps
working fine, but sometimes it stops them both from working.

To resolve a device conflict, do the following:

[+] Right-click on 'My Computer' on your desktop and choose
'Properties'.
[+] A window will appear that says 'System Properties.' Click on
the tab at the top of the window that says 'Device Manager.'
[+] If there is a conflict, a yellow exclamation point (!) will
appear next to the device name.
[+] Single-click on the driver that has the conflict (if there is
more than one, click on the first one), and then click on the
button that says 'Properties'.
[+] A window will appear that has the name of the device on it.
Click on the 'Resources' tab at the top of the window.
[+] Towards the bottom of the window you will see a box that is
labeled 'Conflicting device list'. This will tell you which
device is conflicting with the one you are looking at.
[+] To solve the problem, click on the box next to 'Use automatic
settings' so that there is not a check in the box.
[+] Click on the box next to 'Setting based on' and select each
of the configurations in the list until the 'Conflicting
device list' box says 'No conflicts'. Once it says that,
click 'OK'.
[+] Once you're back at the 'System Properties' window, click
'OK'. You will probably be asked to restart your computer.
Do so.

Repeat those steps for each device that has a yellow exclamation
point (!) next to it. That should remove any problems with
conflicts.






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-------
Summary
=======

So there you have it, the basic steps for troubleshooting your
hardware woes. If, after having followed all of the steps above,
you still are having troubles, ask yourself this question:

[+] Do I have a whole lot of neat stuff in my computer (i.e.,
a scanner, a modem, a CD-ROM drive, a DVD drive, a video
card, a sound card, a DVD decoder card, etc.)?

Just as your house only has so many outlets on the wall,
your computer can only support so many different devices
at a time. If you have a whole bunch of devices, you may
simply be out of room, in which case you will have to
sacrifice one device for the sake of the one you're trying
to get working.

If you don't have that many devices in your computer, and you just
can't figure out what's wrong, drop me an e-mail with a detailed
description of your problem to:

mailto:windowstuneups-owner@egroups.com?subject=WTU_Device_Problems

Maybe together we can figure out the problem.

----------------
About the Author
================

Jonathan Leger is a partner in United Technologies, a computer sales
and service firm engaged in cutting-edge technology such as wireless
LAN networking, traditional LAN networking in Windows workgroups, and
custom database programming.

Please direct all questions and comments regarding this issue, or any
suggestions for subject-matter that you would like to see appear in
PC Tune Ups to:

mailto:jleger@...?subject=WTU_Feedback


-----------------------------
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